Automatic feed for printing machines



May 25, 1937. A, AKER 2,081,523

AUTOMATIC FEED FOR PRINTING MACHINES Filed June 25, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 j INVENTOR HRTHUR G. BAKER.

y 1937. A. G. BAKER 2,081,523

AUTOMATIC FEED FOR PRINTING MACHINES Filed June 25, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 mmmmm 4 36 9 86 ra -i I 96 2 90 76 INVENTOR ARTHUR G. fill/ ER Patented May 25, 1937 UNITED STATES AUTOMATIC FEED FOR PRINTING MACHINES Arthur G. Baker, Dearborn, Mich assignor to Simplex Automatic Press Feeder Corporation, Dearborn, Mich, a corporation of Michigan Application June 25,

2 .Claims.

This invention relates to a printing machine and more particularly to an attachment for the usual platen printing press by which the impressions may be continuously formed on a rolled sheet and automatically cut to length after each impression has been formed.

An object of the invention is to provide an inexpensive device which is complete in itself and which may be readily attached to the usual press for operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide an operating mechanismfor the attached structure which is driven by the usual driving mechanism for the press.

Other objects and advantages will be more apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation showing an adaptation of the improved device on a standard printing press;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the improved device which may be'readily attached to a standard printing press;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a side view'of the form shown in Fig. 2, parts being broken away;

Fig. 5 is a front end view of the device shown in'Fig. 2; and

' Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view of the cam member shown in Fig. 1. I

' Referring to the drawings, I have diagrammatically shown a standard'printin'g press having a base It], a fly wheel l2 forming the driving member for the press, and a type receiving member 14 which is pivotally mounted to the base l0 at H5. The type receiving member is also provided with the usual inking mechanism shown at l'8 which consists of rollers adapted to roll ofi a plate 22, provided with ink, and over the type 24.

The fly wheel 12 has a gear 26 in engagement with and drives a large gear 28 keyed to a shaft 30. The latter has a cam groove 32 which receives a roller 34 secured to an oscillating platen 36 upon which the impressions are formed. The platen 36 is pivoted on the base I!) at 38. Rotation of the shaft 30 and cam groove 32 causes the platen to move from a horizontal position, shown by dot and dash lines, to a position in engagement with the type as shown by full lines. Mounted on the shaft '39 is another rotatable member 40. A working table 42 has been provided for the operator upon which he may place the sheets before and after they have been printed.

All of the mechanism thus far described is well known in the printing art and comprises 60 what is generally known as platen fed press and taken on line 33 1934, Serial No. 732,276

sometimes referred to as a Gordon press. No attempt is made herein to claim any of this mechanism other than in combination with the mechanism hereinafter more fully described.

Heretofore it has been the usual practice for an operator to feed these presses by hand inserting one sheet at a time on the platen 36 and removing it after each impression has been formed. It has also been common practice to provide automatic feeding mechanism which picks up one of a plurality of sheets and automatically feeds it onto the platen, at the same time removing a sheet which has just received an impression.

This improved mechanism permits the feeding of a continuous sheet of paper from a roll between the type receiving member and the platen and automatically cutting off the impression into sheet form.

Referring now to the mechanism which has been devised for attachment to the usual printing mechanism, reference is made to Fig. 2 wherein a frame member is shown secured to a table 42. This frame consists of side plates 44 and 46 spaced by rods 43 and 5B. The frame Work is adapted to be detachably secured to the table 42 by angular members 52 secured to the table 42 and plates 44 and 45 by screws 54.

A shaft 56 is pivotally mounted on the plates 44 and 46 and has one end thereof provided with i a pulley 58 which is driven by a belt 80, better shown in Fig. 1. A roller 62 is mounted on the shaft 56. The belt Si) is received on the outer periphery of the rotating member 40 of the usual printing press and the shaft 56 is driven thereby. It will be understood that the rollers 62 and the shaft 56 are continuously rotating. On the outer periphery of the rotating member 45 I have provided a cam 6d which is detachably received thereon and preferably made in the form of segments which may be readily removed for the purpose of varying the effective length of the cam.

Pivotally mounted on the side plate 44 is an arm 66 having its lower extremity provided with a roller 68 which is held against the outer periphery of the cam 64 and its upper extremity provided with a link Hl whichvis adjustably received in an arm 12, held in a predetermined adjusted position by a screw M. The arm 12 is secured to a transverse rod'ifi rockably supported in arms 78 extending upwardly from a cross member 89 which is secured to the side plates 44 and 46 by bolts 82 received in slots 84 in the side plates 44 and 46. The cross member 813 may be also referred to as the lower segment of a pair of gripping jaws and the lower portion of a shearing mechanism.

A pair of vertical guides 86 are provided in the cross member 80 which receive the upper segment 88 of the gripping mechanism. This upper through the device.

segment is forced downwardly into gripping engagement with the cross member 88 by arms 98 secured to the rod I8. Another arm 92 is secured to the rod i8 and is provided with an inwardly extending pin 94 which is received in a slot 96 formed in the end of a knife blade 98, the latter being pivoted at I88 and cooperating with the shearing edge of the transverse member 88.

Pivoted on the rod 58 and slidably longitudinally thereon are brackets I82 provided with serrated rollers Illfl positioned over the rollers 82. The arm I82 is projected forwardly on the opposite side of the rod 58 and has a portion I86 extending under the member 88. A tension spring I88 is secured to the bracket m2 and the rod 88, exerting a tension in a direction to pull the roller I88 into engagement with the roller 82 and forcing'the member 88, links 88 and 92 upwardly thereby raising the knife blade 98 away from the shearing edge of the transverse member 88.

It has been found necessary to provide some lost motion connection between the movement of the member 88 and the knife blade 98. For this reason the arm 98 is not in direct engagement with the member 88 but engages, a plate I II] which is received in and movable relative to the member 88. This plate H8 is in the form of a channel, one side of which is slotted, as shown at H2, into which a screw I I8 projects to prevent separation of the parts. A compression spring I I8 is positioned between the lower surface of the plate H8 and the bottom of the groove in the member 88 to urge the member upwardly. It will be understood that as the arm 98 starts to move the plate IIO will be forced downwardly carrying withit, through tension of the spring, the member 88 until the latter strikes the upper surface of the cross member 88 for a gripping connection and that further movement of the arms 98 and 92 may be had to bring the knife blade into cutting operation by the lost motion connection between the relatively movable members I I8 and 88 permitted by compression of the spring H8. During this movement of the parts on the rod IS the roller I84 has been raised out of its contactme position with the roller 62 tensioning the spring I88.

Referring to Fig. 6, it will be noted that a ring H8 is detachably secured on the member 48 and is also provided with dovetailed projections I 28 which receive correspondingly shaped grooves in segments I22. On the rockable member I4 I have provided a bracket I24 adapted to receive a roll of paper I28, the paper being threaded between the type receiving member 28 and the platen 88, over the roll 82 and between the members 88 and 88.

In the operation ofthe device, assuming that the platen 38 is in a horizontal position as shown by the dot and dash lines in Fig. 1, the roller 68 on the lever 68 is at the shortest radii position of the cam 84 and the roller I 88 is gripping the paper between the rollers I84 and 62. The roller 62 being constantly rotated causes the paper I26, when in engagement with the roll I84, to move outwardly. At the same time the levers have caused the upper gripping member 88 and knife blade 98 to be raised so that the paper is fed When the roller 68 strikes the high portion of the cam 64 the linkage heretofore described, the roller I94 is raised, thus stopping movement of the paper I26 and at the same time the upper gripping member 88 is caused to pinch the paper between the gripping members 88 and 89. Lost motion between the levers 92 and 98 and the member 88, which has now assumed its maximum downward position, causes the knife blade 98 to be brought downward along side of the shearing edge of the member 88 so that a section of the paper is out off. This operation is then repeated until the entire roll of paper isused;

It will be understood that as the platen moves toward the inclined position for engaging the type that the paper on its upper edge slides over the platen, the paper being held by the gripping members 88 and 88. As the platen returns to its horizontal position it slides underneath the paper.

It has been found desirable to make the member 88 adjustable so that it can be set to trim the sheets in multiples of the width of the printed matter. This, together with a variable cam, permits the feeding of sheets of paper varying in size from one inch to twelve inches. More fully described, assuming that the natural feed of the machine is twelve inches, the cam may be varied so that the feed of paper through the rolls is twelve inches for each cycle of operation, or the cam may be so varied that the feed is only three inches for each cycle of operation.

It Will be understood that the device described may be readily applied to any well known platen press and that the same may be readily removed for the purpose of feeding the machine by hand if so desired.

Various changes, including the size, shape and arrangement of parts, may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and it is not intended to limit its scope other than by the terms of the appended claims.

What I claim is: I

1. A frame comprising a pair of spaced sid plates, a shaft rotatably mounted on said frame, a pulley on said shaft, a roller on said shaft, a roller rotatably mounted on said frame, an arm pivotally mounted on said frame, a roller on said arm, a transverse rod supportedon said frame, a crank arm on said rod, a link connecting. said arm and said crank, a cross member carried by said frame, a knife blade carried by saidframe, a gripping bar carried by said rod, said knife blade and said gripping bar having relatively independent movement and being operated by the movement of said crank and being positioned over said cross member, said frame having securing means whereby it may be detachably secured to a support.

2. A'frame comprising a pair of side plates, a roller rotatably mounted on said frame, a lever pivotally supported on said frame, a roller on one end of said lever over the first named roller, a gripping member on said frame movable relative thereto, the opposite end of said lever operatively engaging said gripping member to cause relative movement between said rollers by the relative movement of said gripping member and said frame, and a lever pivoted onsaid frame for moving said gripping member, said mechanism being a unitary structure and adapted to be detachably secured to a support.

ARTHUR G. BAKER. 

